sunset, twilight, and dusk
by buraiiii
Summary: the gosei angel trainees gaze at the earth's changing sky. (pre epic-1, hints of alata/eri and hyde/magis)


_"Eri, s-slow down! You know I'm not that fast!"_

Alata huffed with every breath he took as he attempted to catch up to his childhood friend and partner. She had always been the faster runner, even when they were just small kids. Eri was always so energetic, running around the Skick campus like a wild fox running loose from its cage.

The slope that the two were running up became steeper and steeper, bits of sandy gray dirt and chunks of stone brushing beneath Alata's white and vermillion shoes and staining them. She was surprisingly fast, and it wasn't any help that he was carrying both of their tensouders in both of his arms. He hadn't realized how heavy their palm-sized transformation devices were when carrying them in his arms, as he was used to having it in his pocket.

"Alataaaaaaa," Eri called, almost startling him with her suddenness. "We're almost there! We can't miss it, it's almost dark!" Her excited giggle echoed through-out the barren cliffside. She paused, letting Alata catch up to her. The Skick was grinning, hands behind her back as she rocked back and forth. Her chocolate brown hair was tied into a loose ponytail with a hot pink, rather worn out scrunchie, and was flowing with the direction of the wind.

Alata caught up to her after a minute, but was a sweating and exhausted mess. He held the side of his rib, which was searing with pain.

"But… but can't we see it another day? Earth has a lot of these, right?" Alata questioned as he put his hands on his knees, huffing with exhaustion. At least they were finally on top of the cliff. It felt refreshing, with the wind making Alata's short hair dance in the wind and caressing his face like a cold, gentle hand.

"I mean… compare the skies here to the skies in the guardian realm!" Eri exclaimed, her arms stretched out to emphasize the luscious background behind her. "It's much prettier…" She said in awe. Alata could almost see the stars bubbling in her large eyes.

Eri was right, the sky was prettier. Alata could make out the mixes of lavender, orange, and soft pink in the sky. The lavender was the dominant color, but the colors still blended in like a perfect painting.

In the guardian realm, it was either always a light shade of sky blue or a dark, dusky brown color. Sometimes some stars, maybe a constellation here or there, but that was it. On Earth though… it changed so much! Just like everything on earth, it moved so fast. Alata just wanted to see the sky change with Eri.

"We can uh… we can watch the sunset together. If-if you don't mind." Alata stuttered, keeping his gaze low as he felt hotness creep up to his cheeks and nose. he didn't want to sound like a bumbling idiot, especially around Eri! His head shot up when she heard her squeal.

"Of course! I'd love that!" Eri responded cheerfully, sitting down cross-legged on the grassy surface of the cliff. She gasped with excitement.

"Look, look!" Eri pointed at the sky, which was gradually growing darker and darker. "It's getting darker already!" She lied down, huffing when she landed on the ground as she stretched out her arms. Alata joined her, lying down near her. He stiffened like a deer in the headlights, arms on his side as he raised his legs. The bladed, short grass lightly pierced the back of his body, but that was fine.

"Isn't it so pretty, Alata?" Eri asked, smiling with glee. She was amazed by the slowly darkening dusk sky.

Alata stared in shock for a few moments, feeling the heat of his face rise again. After those few moments, he finally managed to respond.

_"Yeah, it really is."_

* * *

_"Hey, that wasn't fair!"_

Moune yelled at her older brother, swatting at him.

"You used your Rockrush card against my Roplant card! You know that isn't fair, plants can't even sustain boulder weight!" She reprimanded him, resisting the urge to stomp her foot on the stone ground. The two Landick siblings had been training their powers ever since they went to the surface a few days ago, and seemingly had never stopped. They even set up a small camp, with a mini fire pit as a source of light. The embers of the fire flew by like fireflies in the break of twilight, and dark gray smoke flew upward into the darkening sky.

"Psh," Agri scoffed, fixing his auburn-bleached hair to the side. "Have better reaction skills then." Her brother teased, crossing his arms as he leaned against an oak tree. He was like this always when it came to her arguments. It was so stupid!

"Ugh, you're always like this, man!" Moune complained, kicking a small stone over to Agri, who picked it up as soon as it hit his foot. "It's like you're not even listening to me! I get that I'm the younger one and you're the older one, but at least consider what I say!" Her glare turned from the kicked pebble to her brother, who was giving her a look that screamed nonchalantly.

"The only thing you're right about is me being the older one," Agri smirked mischievously as he pointed a finger to himself, and he sensed that he was pissing his younger sister off. He knew that she had a short, short fuse. The older brother always teased her for the tantrums she had when they were little kids when she didn't get her way. Moune wasn't as explosive as she was before, but there was still a massive streak of that explosive behavior still inside her. So, he cooled off.

"Aight, aight, I'm kidding Moune!" He held his hands up, dropping the pebble. Moune's gaze on the pebble remained for a few seconds before landing back on her brother.

"C'mon, let's take a break." Agri sighed, padding over to the entrance of the siblings' makeshift camp. He sat down, stretching his forearms while yawning.

Moune followed soon after, sitting next to her brother and crossed her arms.

"You're annoying sometimes, you know that?" Moune brooded jokingly, turning to face her brother. The younger Landick grabbed a bag she took with her when she and Agri left the guardian realm from arm's reach. She searched through it, her hand bumping into some other items in the bag before her hand grasped the thing she wanted. A bag of chips.

Moune pulled out the bag and opened it, handing over a small handful of the salted chips to Agri. He took them, gobbling the handful in a few seconds.

"Yuck." Moune jeered, eating some more chips from the bag.

"C'mon! It's just chips! It's meant to be eaten, not properly taken care of like a baby!" Agri protested to Moune's annoyment.

"Well, I'm sooooo sorry that I actually know proper manners! Unlike you, big bro!" Moune smiled with mischief.

"Ha, come here you little maggot!" Agri pulled Moune into a noogie, as Moune mockingly struck his bandaged arms with bouts of laughter.

Moune's eyes stirred towards the sky, a familiar sight when she usually had to check the time during practice. It was getting dark. A mix of dark lavender and dark orange painted the sky, with small starts dotting the portrait of a sky. The Tower of Heaven hovered in mid-air, as usual. The curved, downward spiraling structure never changed at all. It was almost boring to Moune, she always favored change.

"Hey, it's getting dark," Moune said, fixing her hair from the vicious noogie she endured as she stood up. "You know, I like how the earth's sky changes. It's pretty cool."

Agri jeered. "Okay, Skick."

"What did you say?!" Moune twisted her head to glare at her brother, her eyes burning with the fires of a special hell just for him.

"Nothin', nothin'!" Agri laughed, shoving his hands in his pockets. "I'm going inside, see ya in the mornin', sis." He waved as he headed inside, pushing aside the flap of the curtains embedded at the entrance of the tent.

Agri was so annoying sometimes, but… Moune wouldn't have another brother or partner like him. She let out a small smile, before motioning back at him.

_"Night, big bro!"_

* * *

_"Hyde! Oi, Hyde!"_

Magis called as he jogged on the massive beach he and Hyde usually trained their skills at. He paused to take a break, stretching his back as he sighed. The older Seaick looked up at the sky. Nearly midnight. Hyde's been going off on his own during the night.

Again.

For the fifth time this week.

He didn't blame Hyde, though. They were close friends, and Magis knew that Hyde loved solidarity more than anything. It was just a Hyde thing to do. It didn't bother Magis at all. Though, it did concern him that Hyde never brought his tensouder with him. There were disturbing signs that Master Head sent to the Seaicks recently, and more monsters popping up to try and destroy the ocean. Sometimes he felt his heart race, terrified of the thought of Hyde being outnumbered by wicked spirits.

Though, he always succeeded in pushing those thoughts away. His partner was strong, has always been the strategist when it came to the fighting in battle. The two Seaicks worked perfectly with each other, with Hyde's more graceful and thoughtful movements complimenting Magis's more sporadic and unpredictable way of fighting. Hyde could fend them off on his own without a problem.

After reflecting for a while, Magis went back to searching for Hyde. He kept wandering in the dark, barely being able to see anything farther than the length of his arms. His hands were stuffed into the pockets of his onyx black jeans, and the Seaick whistled a tune he learned as a child. He chuckled a small bit, remembering when he pestered Hyde with the tune when they were younger. Sometimes he still liked to tease his partner about the tune, only to be met with a scoff. It was hilarious.

As he continued to reminisce, Magis paused when he found a figure near the sea, sitting down. The back of the figure's jacket was printed with a shark and the label "SEAICK SOUL".

Yep, that's him.

"Hey, Hyde," Magis called, heading over to the younger Seaick with a wave. Hyde turned around, his gaze shifting to his partner.

"Hi," Hyde responded, blinking as Magis sat down close next to him. When Magis got a closer look at his partner, he saw eye bags under Hyde's eyes as he tried to blink them off. Trying not to be rude and point them out bluntly, the older angel gave him his tensouder.

"You forgot this," Magis said, yawning as he passed the device into Hyde's hand. Hyde stared at his device for a few seconds, before setting it next to him.

"Thank you, Magis." He responded as he shifted his position to hug his legs with his long arms. The younger angel's eyes were set on the ocean still, even with his partner right next to him.

"...Are you okay?" Magis asked, turning his head towards Hyde's direction. "You seem off."

Magis had been always to read the other Seaick's emotions, even when others couldn't. He could tell when Hyde was upset, with a clenched jaw and constant fidgets. Hyde was doing exactly that right now.

The Seaick sighed, keeping his head low as Magis's question echoed in his head. Hyde still had trouble with revealing his emotions, even with someone as close to him as his best friend and partner. He guessed it was just how his mother raised him. To not show emotions outwardly, as they were as private as an angel's wings.

Displaying intense emotion as a Seaick, to Hyde, was to be perceived as weak.

"I'm scared." Hyde bluntly revealed, though with shame. "The signs Master Head sent are more frequent than usual, the evil spirits are growing more powerful, and I… I don't know what to do. It's too much pressure. I'm afraid of you dying, of our home being destroyed," Hyde chuckled bitterly, almost taunting himself. "And I'm supposed to be the analyst. The one who should be sensible in the face of battle, and look at how I'm acting right now."

Magis stared at his partner in shock, and could almost see the tears forming in Hyde's eyes. Without hesitation, he wrapped his arm around Hyde's shoulders. His partner widened his eyes before turning to look at Magis.

"Let me tell you something. We're going to go home, become full-fledged angels, and protect this planet no matter what. I'm not going to let them kill me, or you, or destroy our home," Magis affirmed, his gaze intense, but still filled with that soft and all too familiar warmth. "We're prime of our class, you think we're gonna be taken down that easily?" Magis beamed brightly, which settled down Hyde's distress.

"No, we won't." Hyde smiled at Magis, the latter sensing that Hyde was now relaxed. "Promise me though, we'll get through this together, right?"

Magis paused for a few moments, taking a glance at the dusk sky. Dark brown and lilac spiraled in the sky, with stars pelting the air. It could have easily entranced him. The Earth was, admittedly, pretty nice; its inhabitants and environments can grow and change with relative ease. With that knowledge in mind, he glanced back at Hyde. He let out a small, cheeky grin, not unlike him.

_"Yeah, I promise."_


End file.
